Some children walk into a room full of toys and say they don't know how to play.

Lovleen Walia hears it more than you would think. She is a certified Play Therapist in Singapore, using figurines, clay, art, sand trays instead of questions. She gives no instructions. She doesn't interpret, yet children tell her things they have told no one else, which is why friends call her Mary Poppins. (She does not own an umbrella.)

At home, her two girls get close to zero screen time. She calls herself a strict mom. Her friends tell her to let the kids enjoy the movie.

We talk about what she sees when your child plays and you don't, the $200 problem nobody has solved, and a conversation with her own mother that left the studio tearing up.

The next time your child says they are bored, you will want to have heard this first. Hit play.

What You'll Take Away

• What happens when a child walks into a room full of toys and asks what to do
• Why Lovleen never asks a child a single question
• What a child lining up toys in silence might be telling a play therapist
• What Lovleen's daughters say when the film ends (it is not what you would expect)
• The two rules behind a judgment-free play space at home
• The restaurant table game where anything can be anything
• The 10 minutes Lovleen asks every parent to hand over tonight

IN THIS EPISODE:

00:00 | Teaser: What Are Screens Taking Away From Our Kids?

00:55 | Meet Lovleen Walia: The “Mary Poppins” of Play Therapy

02:17 | From Reality TV to Mumbai at 20

04:07 | Too Indian, Not Indian Enough: The Casting Struggle

05:17 | The Moment She Realised Children Needed More

06:35 | Play Therapy: When Toys Speak for Children

09:38 | Inside a Play Therapy Room

12:43 | Why Some Children No Longer Know How to Play

13:54 | Stop Entertaining Your Kids

19:31 | The Families Who Can’t Afford Therapy

22:15 | When a Teacher Says Something Is Wrong

25:16 | Strict Parenting Without Fear or Punishment

28:13 | Why She Refuses to Hit or Use Silent Treatment

30:55 | Raising Kids With Almost Zero Screen Time

32:37 | When Your Child Becomes the “Therapist” Friend

34:02 | Grandparents, Boundaries & Picking Your Battles

36:20 | What We Lose When a Mother Tongue Disappears

39:36 | Your Child Isn’t Giving You a Hard Time

41:21 | Faz’s Top Three Takeaways

About the Guest

Lovleen Walia is a certified play therapist in Singapore, one of very few practising a method that uses toys, sand trays and figurines instead of questions. Before therapy, she won Singapore's spot on India's first reality TV show, acted in Mumbai and taught drama to hundreds of children. She is a mother of two girls, teaches Punjabi, and is pushing for play therapy to reach schools and hospitals.

• Website: https://northstartheraplay.com/
• Instagram: @northstar_theraplay

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Growing Pains is produced in partnership with Poddster, Singapore's podcast studio.